Hollande Due In Kazakhstan On Official Visit

French President Francois Hollande is scheduled to arrive in Astana on December 5 at the start of a two-day official visit to Kazakhstan.

Hollande is due to meet with President Nursultan Nazarbaev and other senior officials during his stay in the Kazakh capital.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Hollande to raise human rights concerns during his meetings with Kazakh officials.

In a statement issued on December 3, HRW said it had a "number of concerns" over the human rights situation in Kazakhstan, including impunity for torture, the imprisonment of government critics, and control over the media as well as freedom of expression.

HRW highlighted a major legislative overhaul by the Kazakh government in 2014 despite serious misgivings by leading Kazakh human rights groups, as well as concerns voiced by the European Union and United States.